Crossroads
by Enigmaticrose4
Summary: Haruhi decides against going to Ouran, but fate will not be dissuaded. She belongs to the Host Club, just as they belong to her.
1. Two Letters

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters

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><p>Haruhi stood at a crossroads in her life, and she knew it.<p>

In her hands were two different letters.

One was an acceptance letter to a very prestigious school right here in Tokyo. It came complete with a scholarship that would cover her tuition and book costs as long as she remained top of her class.

She'd expected to get that letter. She'd studied hard for the exam and she'd looked up the other students applying, none of them were quite as dedicated as she was when it came to studying.

It was the other letter that was the surprise. She'd only applied for it because her father had pressed her.

How in the world had she gotten accepted at a prestigious boarding school in Australia?

This letter informed her that with her scores and interview she'd managed to land their premier scholarship. If she maintained a spot in the top three of her class all of her room, board, tuition, uniform and books would be covered. And, she was even eligible for a free round-trip flight to Japan once a year if she was first in her class. Even if she wasn't the top three, her tuition and room were covered and her books, uniform and board would be covered if she took a part-time job on campus and stayed in the top ten percent of her class.

She cast a sidelong glance at her father snoring loudly on his futon, what would he do without her? How would he eat? But, if she didn't go, and he found out she got in, she'd never hear the end of it…

Haruhi tried to make up her mind.

If she accepted Ouran then she'd be able to stay right here at home and keep an eye on her father, who definitely needed watching.

But, if she went to Brekleys she'd be able to save him money on her food. She'd also be better prepared for a university outside of Japan, if that's what she wanted.

She sat there for a while weighing the pros and cons of the two schools before a loud snore from her father alerted her to the time.

Sighing, Haruhi stuck the letters back in her bag and laid down on her own futon.

Maybe sleeping on it would make it easier.

XXX

Haruhi gripped her suitcase handle tightly and shifted her backpack so it wasn't cutting into her shoulders so badly before moving determinedly through the crowd.

She'd passed customs easily enough. Her visa was in order and due to her status as an unaccompanied minor she'd been escorted through one of the shorter, special lines.

Leaving her dad at Narita International Airport hadn't been easy. He'd of course made a big scene about how he was so proud of his little baby going off to a fancy school. And, while she knew he was proud, she also knew he was scared. He knew she was smart, but he was scared she wasn't smart enough to hold the top slot in her class. They didn't have the money to pay for a return flight to Japan and he didn't want to go years without seeing her again.

She was afraid, too.

Not that being afraid helped at all.

But, what if her English wasn't good enough?

What if she couldn't get the top spot because she was studying in a second language?

And there was no way she'd take a handicap, even if they offered her one.

Haruhi reached the exit for the international arrivals and stopped for a moment. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Mother," she thought, "please, let it all turn out all right."

And with that thought she stepped through the doorway.

It was time to find her contact from Brekleys.

XXX

"We're so excited to have such a promising international student here at Brekleys!" Ms. Stork, her contact, exclaimed.

"I am happy to go to Brekleys," Haruhi stated calmly as she watched the countryside fly by outside the car's window. This woman was so excitable, it wouldn't help to encourage her. Too much like her own father.

"Oh! Of course you are! We're the best in all of Australia, and, possibly, the world! All of our students go on to top universities in whatever country they so choose. Oh! We're almost there! See? There's the school bell tower?"

Haruhi leaned down so she could see the tall brick and wrought iron clock tower that Ms. Stork was pointing at.

It was a beautiful piece of work, and as they rounded a bend in the road Haruhi caught sight of the gate that led to the campus. It had to be five meters tall and was made of wrought iron with small details in brilliantly polished copper. Haruhi knew that copper wasn't expensive, but keeping it polished so nicely probably took lots and lots of work. She hoped that wasn't her part-time job. She'd much rather cook food than polish a silly bit of extravagance.

"Well, what do you think of it?" Ms. Stork asked expectantly.

"It is very beautiful. So many wrought iron, it is very strong looking."

"So much wrought iron, not so many," Ms. Stork corrected absently. All of her attention was on watching the school with this mix of love and awe.

Haruhi wondered what about Brekleys made it worth so much devotion. She'd never felt anything like that for her old school.

Maybe she'd find out.

But, then again, maybe she wouldn't.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> So, I got a little plot bunny. Here comes another long KyoyaXHaruhi fic. Like 'A Facade of a Relationship' it starts in high school, but like 'Love and Happiness' it is much more grounded in reality while still staying true to the awesome Ouran characters I love so much.

Enjoy!


	2. Skulking in the Bushes

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters

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><p>It took Haruhi a few days to become oriented.<p>

She didn't find the English as hard to understand as she'd feared, but that was likely because she'd spent the months between when she decided to come to Brekleys and when she actually departed studying English. Specifically, Australian English, because they didn't talk at all like the American English she'd been learning in middle school.

No, what she did find difficult was her part-time job.

She'd been quite happy to find they'd put her in the kitchen doing prep-work for meals. The good thing about prep-work was that she got to eat with everyone else. The bad thing was that she'd go to eat straight from the kitchen and so everyone knew she was a scholarship student.

Not that Haruhi minded other people knowing, but the fact that she was the most easily identified scholarship student made her a target for bullies.

Not they could really hurt her, but they made life annoying. She had to keep taking random routes to class in order to dodge their attempts to delay her – which left her with less time to study.

And that was criminal.

And so here she was, a month into her first year at Brekleys, skulking through the bushes rather than walking on the nice sidewalks.

"Haruhi, why are you walking through the bushes?" Chiye Koenig asked in Japanese.

Haruhi glanced up in surprise to see one of her roommates staring down at her from one of the trees.

"Probably the same reason you're in a tree?" Haruhi retorted.

A tinkling little laugh came from another tree and Haruhi looked over to see Masaye Koenig sitting on a branch. "Silly Haruhi, we may be international students like you, but we aren't on scholarships, we have no need to hide from the bullies."

"Okay, since you know why I'm here, why are you in trees?" Haruhi retorted in Japanese, getting a little annoyed. She didn't really understand her roommates. They were so obsessed with soccer that she couldn't really comprehend them. Not they had tried to get to know her, despite the fact that the administration put them all together because Haruhi was Japanese and the girls' mother was Japanese. They spent most of their time in the dorm speaking in German, which Haruhi didn't know.

"Because we're also hiding," Chiye said in Japanese.

Haruhi frowned in confusion, "Why are you hiding?"

"Well, you see-"

"-we were getting bored."

"So, we decided to-"

"-duck tape all the furniture in our science lab-"

"-to the ceiling."

"We're afraid-"

"-that we forgot-"

"-to take the security-"

"-cameras into consideration."

"And now they're looking for us," they finished in unison.

Haruhi sighed, why had she thought that she'd had smart roommates?

"You do know that you're just delaying the inevitable, don't you?" Haruhi asked.

"Oh, of course we do," replied Masaye cheerfully.

"But, we figured it would be more of a prank, if we made it hard to find us. After all, if we're going to establish ourselves as the Mischievous Koenig Twins we need to drive up our 'street' cred. Which is a little difficult at the moment because we forgot about the security cameras," said Chiye.

Haruhi understood their logic, but she was still confused. "Why do you want to be known as the Mischievous Koenig Twins?"

"Why not?" Chiye asked.

"It's something to do, we are bored, after all," Masaye added. "Aren't you?"

Haruhi shook her head, "No, I'm not. I need to get the top spot in our grade. So I HAVE to study."

Now it was the Koenig twins' turn to frown in confusion, "Why do you need the top spot? You can quit the part time job if you're one of the top three. Then the bullies will probably lose interest since they won't have the constant reminder of you eating in your work uniform."

"The bullies don't really bother me. They make my life annoying, but they can't hurt me unless I let them. I know they won't get physical. They're too worried that since I'm Japanese I'm a master at karate. Which is stupid, but I'll let them believe that since it only helps me. I need the top spot because I want the round trip ticket to Japan during the summer break. It will break my dad's heart if he doesn't get to see me."

The Koenig twins dropped out of the trees and looked at her in amazement. "Haruhi, that's the most emotion we've ever seen you convey," Masaye said.

"You must really love your father," Chiye added.

"Of course I do, all we have is each other. My mother died when I was younger."

"That's so sad!" Masaye said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Can we help you?" Chiye asked, her eyes holding a fierce determination.

Haruhi blinked in surprise at Chiye's offer, "Why would you help me?"

The Koenig Twins looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Haruhi.

"Because-"

"-you seem like a nice person-"

"-and we haven't-"

"-been very nice-"

"-to you."

"So, you're offering to help me out of pity. No, thank you," Haruhi turned to walk away.

Immediately she found herself grabbed and spun back around to face the twins.

Chiye was the one holding on to her as Masaye came up and shook her head sadly.

"Silly, Haruhi, we aren't offering out of pity. We stopped looking at each other long enough to realize that you, our roommate, is probably just as smart as us, if not smarter. You're also very nice and have a great deal of loyalty to your father. And, we've also come to realize that you're very practical," Masaye stopped to take a breath and looked over at Chiye, who took over.

"You may be a scholarship student now, but you're definitely going places in life. We're also going places, even if we didn't have our parents to give us a head start we'd go places, because that's the type of people we are. So, why shouldn't we try and make friends with someone like us?"

"So, you want to help me and be friends with me because it makes sense?"

The girls grinned and replied together, "We also like you."

Haruhi sighed and shook her head in amusement. Who was she to argue with them?

"Sure, we can be friends. Just don't go duck taping MY things to the ceiling."

The Koenig twins laughed at that, "We promise!"

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I got the second chapter edited faster than I thought I would, so here you go! I actually have most of the story written. I just need to find time to edit and check details. I'm sorry if you dislike OCs, but they are a bit necessary in this story since Haruhi isn't at Ouran, which is, of course, populated by canon characters. Don't worry though, these OCs have been around for several years and are fairly well-rounded for what they need to do, they're found in all of my other longer Ouran works.

Enjoy!


	3. Commoner Coffee at Christmas

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters

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><p>"HARUHI!"<p>

All of the air rushed out of Haruhi's lungs as she was swept off her feet and spun around like she was still in preschool by her father.

When he put her down she chuckled, "Hi, dad. I see you're happy to see me."

"Of COURSE I'm happy to see you! My baby girl has come home! And you're all MINE until the end of January! Now, give me your suitcase! I want a nice lunch with you before I have to go to work. And, I want you to tell me EVERYTHING about Brekleys! Hear me? EVERYTHING."

Haruhi couldn't keep the grin off her face as she followed her father out of the airport and to their bus. She shivered as she stepped into the cold winter wind, and, for just a moment, she thought longingly of the nice, warm summer currently occurring in Australia.

But that feeling disappeared as soon as she laid eyes on her excitedly exuberant father. While he may drive her crazy, she loved him so much, and she'd missed him during the past eleven months. She wished it had been possible to visit him during the two month break back in July, but it just hadn't been economically feasible.

They ended up eating lunch at a little hole in the wall with deliciously decadent yakisoba. As Haruhi took her first bite she almost moaned in pleasure. She'd missed real Japanese food so much!

Sadly, her father had to go to work soon after they got back to the apartment, but he promised to spend all of the next day with her, since he had it off.

She spent a good thirty minutes after her father left for work just sitting in the middle of their apartment and looking at everything. Noticing that while nothing had really changed, it felt different. Almost as if it wasn't her home anymore, which made her sad. Then she spent another twenty in front of her mother's shrine.

"Mother, can you believe I've been in Australia for the past year? I can't. It's been such an adventure, but I didn't slack off. I worked hard and got top of my class. Granted, Chiye and Masaye Koenig helped me study. It's not that the material was difficult, but it was all in English and I don't have the same level of fluency in it as they do. They're trilingual, and very, very smart. They're also very nice and funny."

Haruhi picked up her mother's picture and held it.

"When I first got there I was bullied some. They made fun of my eyes and called me names. They also called me a leech since I'm a scholarship student. But they never touched me. They think I'm a karate master. Chiye and Masaye thought this was very funny and so decided to help me make it true. There's no karate teacher at Brekleys, but there is a taekwondo teacher. So I'm taking that. I know taekwondo is Korean, not Japanese, so Dad might not like it, but it's actually really interesting. It involves a lot of kicking and is meant to help smaller opponents. Masaye knows a lot of trivia and she told me it was invented so Korean captives could kick Chinese soldiers off their horses with their hands tied behind their back. They signed up to take the class with me, since kicking is just a little useful in football."

Haruhi chuckled at her own joke and felt a tear trickle down her face, knowing her mother would've chuckled at it also.

"I don't think Dad changed at all while I was gone, I know the apartment didn't. But I feel like I did. The world's so much bigger than I ever realized. But, it some ways it's smaller. Once I got over the language differences and the economic backgrounds I realized that my new classmates and teachers are markedly similar to my old ones. Masaye is teaching me how to study people in order to discover how they think. She says that it will help me be a good lawyer. I believe her, but I wish you were here to confirm what she says. Chiye, on the other hand, is teaching me how to use people to achieve what I want. I don't think this is nice, but a part of me realizes that a good lawyer must be willing to use every tool to achieve what is right. I want to be a good lawyer, so I'll learn, and then decide when I really need to use it."

Haruhi put her mother's picture down and let her hand rest on it for a minute before pulling back.

"I think I'll go see what food Dad has around and decide what to make for dinner. Thank you for listening, Mother. I miss you."

A quick search of the kitchen showed Haruhi that the only thing that was really edible was the 20kg bag of rice, canned soup, and some frozen dumplings.

Her father had not been eating well without her.

Well, she may only be home a month, but she'd make sure he ate well while she was here.

And with that thought she grabbed her purse, took some money from the grocery jar, threw on her jacket, and headed out the door.

It felt so right to walk to the grocery store. Such a mundane thing, and yet she'd missed it so much.

Nothing had changed at the store, and that made Haruhi smile as she walked the familiar aisles for food. The place was more crowded the normal though, which Haruhi knew was due to all of the gift boxes being offered as potential Christmas gifts.

She wasn't a big fan of Christmas; it had no meaning for her. Christmas was for couples and children, she was neither, but it was nice to see children pointing excitedly at toys and hoping that Santa would bring them something.

"OOOOooo! Look at this! A gift box of spam! Who knew common people liked spam so much?"

Haruhi curiously glanced over at a tall blonde boy talking excitedly about all of the different gift boxes. He was surrounded by five boys of assorted sizes and ages, none of them looked the least bit interested in what the boy was saying. One thing they all had in common though was the fact that their clothes were much too nice and fashionable for this grocery store.

Haruhi was frowning and wondering just who they were and what they were doing here when the pair of red-headed twins caught sight of her watching them. As soon as she saw the mischievous expressions appear on her face she knew she needed to get out of there. She'd seen that look on the Koenig Twins too many times.

But it was too late.

As if by magic they were in front of her, trapping her between them and the shelves full of coffee.

"You're such a beautiful girl, what are you doing in such a common place as this?" asked the one who reminded her of Masaye.

Haruhi glared at him, "Shopping."

"Kaoru! How could you ask such a stupid question of such an intelligent girl? Of course she's shopping!" the other one scolded.

Haruhi almost burst out laughing as Kaoru's eyes filled with tears, "Hikaru…how-how can you say such mean things to me? Y-y-you know she's so beautiful that I stopped thinking straight."

Hikaru immediately turned away from Haruhi and touched Kaoru's face, "I'm so sorry Kaoru! Please don't cry! I didn't think! I was just afraid you'd upset such a beautiful and intelligent girl."

Haruhi didn't wait to see how Kaoru responded to this; she rolled her eyes, took a step to the side, and walked away. As she did so she glanced over at the other boys still looking at the gift boxes.

Her eyes caught a pair of piercing black eyes that belonged to a tall boy with black hair and glasses. He gave her a small smirk while raising a slim eyebrow to indicate he'd seen how she'd escaped from the twins.

She gracefully returned his smile before going to pay for her purchases.

What a strange group.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Here's the third! Our first interaction between Haruhi and the Host Club. Now, will any of them remember this moment in the years to come?

Enjoy!


	4. Bring on the Bullies

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters

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><p>The next year passed much too quickly for Haruhi.<p>

She didn't know where it went, all she did was take one day at a time and, before she knew it, she was on a plane heading back to Australia after a lovely month home with her father. She was prepared to start her final year at Brekleys.

In many ways this was the most important year because this was when you had to decide where you were going to go after graduation. Where you were going to spend the next chapter of your life.

And, with this in mind Haruhi began preparing applications and sending them out all over the world. She sent applications to universities in Australia, Japan, the USA and even the UK. Not that she could apply for them all at once. They all had different start times and deadlines. So, in between applications she continued to practice taekwondo and study, while avoiding the Koenig Twins' more extreme plans and plots.

She managed to get through three months of the school year before trouble found her.

Her rather peaceful existence was interrupted when she rounded the corner of the Foreign Languages building to find Kyle Styles and three of his cronies surrounding a small blonde boy that Haruhi vaguely remembered seeing at of the Freshman football games Chiye and Masaye had dragged her to last year.

"You little French f**! I saw you! I saw you flirting with her! Touching her! She's MINE! Do you understand?!" Kyle yelled.

Haruhi froze where she was, she didn't know what a f &$ was, and from the French boy's expression she didn't think he knew either, but they both knew it wasn't a good word.

That didn't stop the little French boy from widening his stance and tensing his arms as he responded, "First, I wasn't flirting, I was just being nice. Second, even if I was flirting, Danielle isn't your property! She can do what she wants!"

Kyle threw back his head and let out a laugh, the same laugh he used to let out when he bullied Haruhi two years ago. Calling her slant-eyed leech who was no better than a w****. Asking who she had to f*** to get into Brekleys. He'd stopped after she became friends with Chiye and Masaye. Though that hadn't stopped him from giving her nasty looks.

Apparently he'd only stopped bothering her.

Haruhi wasn't much of a do-gooder. But, she wanted to be a good lawyer, one that helped people. And there was no way she'd turn and walk away from this bully. As Haruhi saw Kyle reach up and slam the French boy hard into the wall as his cronies grabbed the boys arms and held them down her eyes narrowed into slits. Apparently they didn't believe the French boy knew some sort of martial arts, like they had with her.

Taking a big step away from the Haruhi opened her mouth and called out, "Kyle Styles, just what do you think you're doing?"

Kyle stopped his punch just a few centimeters from the French boy's nose and turned to look at Haruhi. "Look what the cat dragged in, the ch*** w****! Does she want what we're going give him? What? Are you his girlfriend or something

Haruhi widened her stance and got into a solid fighting stance. "Kyle, let him go."

Kyle let out another laugh, "I'm not afraid of you, little b**** ! We've been taking wrestling. Tim, Dane, go get her. We'll teach them both a lesson."

Haruhi almost laughed at his boast about wrestling. As long as she made sure they never got to close, which taekwondo encouraged, she'd be safe.

The boy who was just standing there, as well as one of the ones holding the French boy's arms down turned and rushed her.

Haruhi tucked her arms in close to her body and waited. It was over in just a few well-timed kicks.

One of the boys lay on the ground, holding himself between his legs and silently screaming; the other was doubled over, trying to catch his breath. Haruhi stepped around them and walked towards Kyle.

"Let him go Kyle."

Kyle did, but only so he could turn to face all of his attention on Haruhi. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as he pulled his fists up in a boxing position.

When the fight started she didn't aim for his torso, rather, she kicked him in his thigh, right over his knee. No bones were broken, but his leg crumpled under him. As he fell she aimed a kick at his stomach, making him double over as he fell.

When she looked up from Kyle to the fourth and last boy she realized that he was long gone. She could see him running away as fast as he could.

The French boy was watching her with such a look of awe on his face that Haruhi felt herself turn bright red in embarrassment.

"That was amazing!"

Haruhi turned even redder, "Whatever, come on, let's get out of here before they get back up."

She started walking off, knowing that he would follow her, and she wasn't wrong.

"Where are we going?"

"To find the nearest teacher."

"What? Why?"

"Because, I just hurt those boys, they're going to try and make up a lie to say I attacked them. We need to tell someone first. Otherwise we'll look guilty."

The French boy was quiet as he thought about what she had said. After a few moments he replied, "That's actually really smart. How'd you know that?"

"I'm going to be a lawyer one day, I need to know how people think. And I know we'll look guilty if we try to hide what we did. By the way, I'm Haruhi Fujioka, what's your name?"

"Oh! I'm Zackarie Roux! Thank you very much for rescuing me back there!"

Haruhi looked at him closely as they went inside the foreign languages building. "You're not angry at me for rescuing me?"

Zackarie frowned, "Why would I be? I wasn't doing a very good job of rescuing myself, was I? Anyways, you have some sort of special training, that I don't have. Anyways, I'm sure I'm better than you at other things, like football or French, right?"

Haruhi chuckled, she liked him, "Right, Masaye and Chiye have given up trying to teach me how to kick a ball, I'm hopeless."

Zackarie's eyes got as wide as saucers. "You're friends with Masaye and Chiye Koenig?! They're amazing players! And, their dad! He's amazing! Only Lionel Messi is better than he is! Can you introduce me to them? Please? I've been trying to figure out how to meet them without looking like a creepy fan!" He paused, and then his eyes somehow got wider, "Wait! No! You can't introduce them to me! Then I will be a creepy fan!"

Haruhi chuckled as she knocked on Ms. Stork's door. "Zackarie, you're okay. Just sit with me at dinner and I'll introduce you. They'll want to meet a guy so chill that he doesn't mind a girl saving him."

Zackarie's eyebrows went up in disbelief at the statement, but he said nothing as Ms. Stork called, "Enter!"

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Well, sorry, no host club appearances, but you do get to see Haruhi kick some bullies where it hurts. Sorry it's a bit short.

Enjoy!


	5. Getting Settled

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters

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><p>Once again Haruhi stepped off of a plane and entered a new world. For someone from so poor a background she'd done a lot of world traveling, and she wasn't even twenty yet.<p>

She'd ultimately decided to go to school at Oxford. She'd seen lots of Australia during school breaks with the Koenig twins, they'd insisted on dragging her everywhere with them, not letting her say a thing about money. And arguing with them was like arguing with a force of nature – there was no possible way to win.

Somehow, those trips had left her with a taste for travel. So, the idea of staying in Japan, or even Australia, for university hadn't sounded intriguing at all. She'd set her sights on the USA or the UK, ultimately choosing the UK because it was so close to so many other countries. The Koenig Twins going to school in Germany had had nothing to do with it, nothing at all.

Or, so she told herself.

Haruhi would never admit, especially to herself, how much her friendship with them had made her high school years so much better. She knew that if she admitted it to them that their egos would grow too big to fit in the same room.

Zackarie joining their meals and study sessions hadn't helped their egos; it took him months to see them as real people, and not football superstars. Then, when their dad had come to visit during one of the breaks he'd lost his cool façade completely and stammered like a little kid meeting Santa for the first time.

Another reason for choosing Oxford had been their special relationship with Brekleys and their amazing range of scholarships available for international students.

So, here she was, once again standing in a new country, facing a new school, and knowing no one.

It was scary, but was also thrilling.

She navigated Heathrow with no issues and took the proper trains until she found herself in the Oxford administration building. A no nonsense gentlemen named Mr. Fields got her settled.

"Sign this paper, here. This is your housing agreement. Everything is paid for by your scholarship, this is just your promise to do no damage to our building. Good. Now, here's information for you, including the contact information for our foreign services department. If you look at this paper you'll see directions to student services. They'll set you up with an id card, a meal plan, and show you your dorm room. Your schedule will be emailed to you. Thank you. Have a good day!"

Before he even finished speaking he was typing away at his computer, having completely forgotten about her.

Haruhi had never met anyone like that before.

And she hoped never to again, though, she could see how someone like him could be useful in the right circumstances.

Haruhi followed the map until she reached the student services building. She ended up being helped by fiery red-head that didn't look much older than her.

"Hello! I'm Alianore Roux! I'm a sophomore here at Oxford and I'll be happy to help you get settled!"

She gave Haruhi a broad grin that looked completely genuine.

It was the grin that tipped Haruhi off, after all, the name Roux cold be common in France. Funny, how she never got around to asking Zackarie what his sister's name was during the entire year she'd known him. Not that he'd ever wanted to talk about her, apparently the siblings didn't care for each other.

"Alianore Roux? Are you related to Zackarie Roux?" Haruhi asked?

"Zackarie? You know Zackarie! Oh! Oui! He is my brother! How do you know him?" Alianore asked excitedly.

"I'm Haruhi Fujioka. I went to Brekleys with him. I didn't know his sister went to Oxford."

"Oh! I know who you are! You're the one that rescued him from that nasty bully, aren't you? And, of course he didn't tell you I go to Oxford. That boy probably hopes we never meet. Honestly, he's so embarrassed by his big sister."

Haruhi could sort of see why Zackarie was embarrassed by Alianore, she was a bit overwhelming, but then, so was Haruhi's dad.

"Yes, that's me! It's so nice to meet you. You know, you two have the same smile."

Alianore laughed at that, "We have our father's smile. My mother is always trying to get me to tame it, but I refuse. I shall smile like I mean it I say! And she always sighs and asks what she did to deserve a daughter like me. But, then I say something silly and she's laughing and all is right with the world."

Haruhi felt a twinge of pain at the mention of Mrs. Roux. Truly, it had been so long since her own mother had passed away, it shouldn't hurt to hear about someone else's mother. But it did. Especially when it was about something she'd never been able to experience with her mother, because of her age at the time her mother passed away.

"That's nice. Can you help me though? I just got in from Japan today and I'm very tired," Haruhi said, trying to keep Alianore on track.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Follow me, let's get you all sorted out!"

Alianore did, indeed, get Haruhi all sorted out before exchanging contact information and sending her on her way to her dorm.

Once again the administration had decided to be 'helpful' and put two Japanese students together. Mei Yasumura was a very exuberant girl who had exclaimed over Haruhi's figure and immediately began sketching possible dresses for her as soon as she entered the dorm.

It had only taken Haruhi ten minutes to unpack her things. By that time Mei was holding swatches of fabric up in order to determine the exact right shade of blue.

The idea of being a human mannequin for this strange, over-made-up girl had Haruhi grabbing her purse and mumbling something about buying some necessities before she ran out of the room – barely remembering to take her key with her.

Luckily, Mei didn't follow her.

As Haruhi headed out to look for a pharmacy to buy shampoo and such she had to wonder. How did she keep ending up with people so unlike herself? She was perfectly ordinary, despite her unique childhood, so why did she seem to find herself surrounded by those that were far from ordinary?

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> And the next chapter of her life begins. And, yes, Mei has arrived! :)

Enjoy!


	6. A Night in Paris

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters

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><p>"I wonder if we'll see any famous French designers!" Mei exclaimed happily as she practically bounced on her train seat.<p>

"I wouldn't count on it, I never saw any when I was living in Paris," Alianore said from behind her book. She looked like she was ignoring Mei, but Haruhi knew what wasn't true. From the first moment the two of them had met they'd established a rivalry that was only tempered by their friendship with Haruhi.

Though Haruhi had no clue how the two of them had ended up as her friends, or even how this trip to Paris had come about. All she'd done was make the mistake of Skyping with the Koenig Twins while Mei and Alianore were in her dorm and before she knew it they were all scheduled to meet up in Paris between the second and third term.

"Hah! You wouldn't know fashion designer if they walked right up to you and said, 'Bonjour!' Right Haruhi?"

Haruhi's eyes grew wide and she held her hands up in protest, "I'm not getting involved in this."

"Haruhi! You know she's wrong! Right?" Alianore whined.

Haruhi did nothing to respond, it would only encourage them. Yes, it was much safer to ignore them. Much, much safer.

Once the two of them realized that Haruhi wouldn't get involved they both entered into a sulky silence for the duration of the ride. When they finally pulled up to the station in Paris Haruhi couldn't have been happier.

Chiye and Masaye were waiting for them on the platform.

"Haruhi!" they screamed together as they enveloped her in a hug.

She hugged them back as Alianore and Mei followed her off the train, pointedly ignoring each other.

Introductions were made and the five of them headed for the apartment Alianore's family maintained in Paris. Currently the Roux family was in Japan, so it would just be the five of them, which excited all of the girls, except for Haruhi. She was a bit worried when she thought up the trouble these girls could get into.

Well, maybe not a bit.

She was quite worried.

Masaye had done some research and found a rather high class bar not too far from the apartment. And that's where they all ended up after a delicious dinner at one of the many cafes in the neighborhood.

Haruhi's jaw dropped when she walked inside. Though she should've known what to expect, they had forced into a tight little green dress that was much too classy for her, though it meshed well with all the tight little numbers everyone in the group was wearing. The entire bar just screamed money. From the decorations to the people sitting on the elegant chairs. It made Haruhi want to roll her eyes and walk right back out, but she resisted.

She had to remember what Masaye had said the first time she saw Haruhi roll her eyes and mutter, "Rich people."

"_Haruhi…you know you're very smart. And you're also very dedicated. One day you'll make lots of money, and even if you give it all away you'll have to work with the people that make lots of money. You'll need to play their games enough to understand them, and then defeat them at their own game. If they know you hate them, you'll get nothing from them."_

"_Right now, though, I'm just with you and Chiye. I don't need to play those games."_

"_Yes, you do. You need to practice, Haruhi. You're a naturally honest person, so you need to practice lying. This will be the difference between being a good lawyer and being the best lawyer. Understand?"_

With these words in mind Haruhi straightened her back, put a small smile on her face, and followed Chiye into the bar.

The five girls grabbed a booth near the dance floor, a place where they could see and be seen. Haruhi wanted to hunch her shoulders and hide, but a knowing look from Masaye stopped her.

A waiter appeared and they all ordered drinks with side dishes of fruit and some other things that Haruhi didn't know the names.

After about an hour enough alcohol had disappeared that they were all a bit past tipsy, which lead to a discussion of curse words in each of the languages.

Mei was very loudly teaching Alianore some Japanese curse words when a slightly familiar pair of red heads looked over from the booth next to them.

"My, my, Kaoru, one of the ladies over here has QUITE a dirty mouth."

As soon as Haruhi heard the name 'Kaoru' she remembered the incident at the grocery store. What in the world were a pair of rich Japanese boys doing in Paris? That question made her laugh. A better question would be, 'Why was a poor Japanese girl doing in one of the most exclusive bars in Paris?'

Her laughter made the twins turn to look at her, ignoring Mei's very red face.

"Oh, hello beautiful lady, is something amusing? Perhaps your friend's dirty mouth?" Hikaru asked.

Haruhi raised one elegantly plucked eyebrow (thanks to Mei) and said, "No, rather, I thought you to be amusing. After all, how often do we see a pair of walking, talking balls of slime? By the way, where are your partners in crime? Still in Japan?"

The twins frowned in confusion as the Koenig Twins' eyes grew wide in recognition before narrowing in amusement. Haruhi had told them once about that grocery store experience. They were intelligent enough to put two and two together.

Kaoru opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by someone clearing his throat. She looked over to see the rest of the boys from the grocery store standing nearby.

"We partners in crime are standing right here, miss," said the dark haired one with glasses. "May I ask how you knew there were more of us?"

After the way he had smiled at her before Haruhi felt a twinge of disappointment at the fact that there was no recognition in his eyes. Well, she did have messy short hair last time, glasses, and common clothes on – while this time she had long straight hair and was was dressed to the nines. It wasn't surprising that none of these boys recognized her. After all, people saw what they expected to see.

"No, you may not," Haruhi stated simply.

Glasses Boy eyes flashed in anger at being defied and he opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by the tall blonde boy.

"Alianore?! Is that you?" He spoke in French, so Haruhi wasn't entirely sure that she heard him right, despite the language exchange she'd been doing with Alianore. Though, it wasn't hard to get the gist of what he meant.

Alianore's own gasp of, "Rene?! Rene de Grantaine?!" was confirmation enough for Haruhi. Apparently these two knew each other.

But they didn't know each other very well, because as soon as Rene said, "Oui," Alianore picked up her glass, and threw the contents in his face.

Then, as he was still sputtering, and trying to wipe Sex on the Beach out of his eyes she stood, grabbed her clutch, and said in English, "Girls, I think it's time to find a new bar. One inhabited by actual gentlemen and not cretins masquerading as gentlemen."

The four of them grabbed their own clutches and stood up from the tables as Kaoru asked Rene, "Jeez, Tamaki, what did you say to her?"

"Yeah," put in Hikaru, "Who knew you were such a clumsy fool in your native tongue?"

From their snickers Haruhi guessed that they knew Rene had said nothing wrong – which made their teasing just a bit on the cruel side for her taste. From the way he was currently hiding in a corner of the bar and sobbing she could tell that he was very upset.

As Haruhi reached the door to the bar she realized Glasses Boy was watching her with curiosity, not moving to help his friend at all. There was no grin on his face this time, clearly realizing that he'd been outmaneuvered; even if it was by random circumstances. Haruhi raised an eyebrow at him questionably and gave him a small smile before following Mei through the doorway.

Haruhi wondered if he recognized her now.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>There we go. More awesome Host Club interactions. Sorry I didn't get this up yesterday, I was out of town for the weekend.

Enjoy!


	7. Going, Going, Gone

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters. Nor do I own any rights for Antique Bakery.

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><p>It was a good four years in England.<p>

But Haruhi was glad it was over.

She hadn't had the funds to travel back to Japan once a year, like she had in high school. In fact, she hadn't been back at all – though her father had managed to come visit her between her sophomore and junior year. She'd gotten a part-time job at a local Japanese restaurant, but her father had insisted that she use the funds she made there to tour Europe with her friends. And, since she had the bad habit of making wealthy friends, she'd been able to visit virtually every country in Europe with her meager earnings. Mainly because she'd never had to pay for lodging due to her friends refusing to stay anywhere but the best and then insisting she stay with them.

It had been nice but Haruhi had never enjoyed mooching off of others, even when it forced on her.

Now that she had her bachelor's degree she was finally heading back to Japan. She'd thought about going to the USA for law school, but she'd ultimately decided on Tohoku Law School, since she wanted to practice law in Japan, and their classes would help prepare her for the board exam.

So, here she was, on an Air India flight, with fifteen hours of flight time and a ten hour layover because it was the cheapest flight home.

And she was stuck with Mei the entire way.

"How much longer to Delhi? It feels like we've been traveling for forever," Mei complained.

"Mei, it's only been two hours, we still have almost seven more hours," Haruhi answered.

"Seven hours left?! In these seats?"

"These are the normal seats."

"But, I can't feel my legs anymore! I'm claustrophobic!"

"Mei?"

"Why are planes so small? They're trying to kill us! I know it!"

"MEI!"

Mei jerked in surprise, "What?"

"Mei, look at me."

Mei turned to stare at Haruhi, who took one of her hands.

"Why didn't you tell me you were an anxious flyer? You could've paid more for an emergency exit seat with more leg room."

Mei gulped and took a deep breath. "I always think I've got it beat, but, I never do. It slowly starts, and, well, that's why I never went hope to visit my mom."

"And that's why you wanted to fly with me, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Mei, how in the world did you get to Oxford?"

"Um, I drank lots of the little alcohol bottles."

"Does that help?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to go ask for some alcohol for you?"

"Maybe?"

Haruhi unbuckled and began to stand up, but Mei grabbed her arm.

"No! Don't leave! Please."

Haruhi sat back down and instead pushed the call button. She hated doing that, flight attendants weren't servants, but there was no way she could leave Mei alone right now.

"Can I help you?" A young man in a flight attendant uniform asked.

"Yes, my friend here started having a panic attack due to flight anxiety. Can we get some bottles of something alcoholic? We're not picky."

The young man looked at Mei's death grip on Haruhi and nodded, "Sure, I'll be right back."

Mei drank several little bottles of wine until she eventually passed out, only then did her grip on Haruhi's hand let up. Haruhi took the chance to run to the bathroom.

Mei was just beginning to stir again when they landed in Delhi. The two of them proceeded to raid a store for snacks and set up camp in a fairly empty part of the airport. They had about a ten hour layover. The two of them took turns napping, so someone was always watching the bags.

About two hours before takeoff Mei dragged Haruhi over to a bar where they ate some greasy burgers and Mei began to drown herself in alcohol.

By the time they boarded the flight to Japan Mei was past tipsy. After the 'dinner' meal and a few little bottles of wine she passed out, not stirring again for the rest of the eight hour flight.

Haruhi envied her.

She was wide awake from the naps on the plane and she was bored to tears. The plane was an older one and so didn't have a screen for every seat and the movie currently playing was in Hindi with English subtitles that were much too small to read from her seat.

So all she had were her thoughts.

At times like this, when she had too much time to think, she wondered what life would've been like if she hadn't gone to Brekleys, if she'd gone to Ouran instead.

Ouran was one of the most exclusive schools in Japan, which made it likely that those boys went there, since she knew that Tamaki Suoh went there. Alianore had told them all about him and how his family owned Ouran and Suoh Industries.

Which meant Glasses Boy was likely from one of the most prominent families. She wondered which one…

Haruhi shook her head and rolled her eyes at herself. She shouldn't be thinking about Glasses Boy. Even if she became the best lawyer in Japan he'd be beyond her. They didn't have the same cultural background, even if they came from the same country. He probably flew first class and had gone to Ouran with his daddy paying every bill. He never had to work a part-time job or go years without seeing Japan because it wasn't practical.

No, he was way beyond her.

Just like Alianore was way beyond an idiot playboy like Tamaki Suoh.

Alianore had told them, after they'd ended up at a less exclusive bar, how she and Tamaki had gone to middle school together. How they'd spent all their free time together. He'd given her her first kiss by lake between their country homes. He'd told her that she was the only one for him.

And then he'd disappeared.

Alianore had gone to their special spot by the lake, but he never came. So she'd gone to his house, but he hadn't been there. In fact, no one had been there at all. Not even the gardener who she had remembered being there long before Tamaki and his mother had arrived.

She'd immediately gone home and tried to email him and call him, but he'd never replied.

So she'd started digging, which is when she learned that his name wasn't even Rene de Grantaine. Or, at least, that wasn't his name anymore. There was no record of a Rene de Grantaine anywhere in the world. She did track his mother to a hospital on the southern coast of France, but there was no sign of Rene. But that was ultimately a dead end, since Anne-Sophie told her, "Rene is as unreachable as the stars," before she broke down crying.

Alianore had never gone to bother Anne-Sophia again. Part of her had feared that Rene was dead, but, if that was so, why hadn't someone told her?

Haruhi still thought the circumstances in which Alianore found out that Rene was still alive and healthy were pretty contrived, but then, weren't some things accomplished in very unlikely circumstances?

Alianore had been killing time on her school's online when some girl named Renge Houshakuji had posted:

'_Sorry for the late notice, but I'm in Japan! My soulmate is here! As you can clearly see in the below photo:'_

The photo had contained six boys with a title proclaiming them the 'Ouran High School Host Club.' One of those six smiling boys had been Rene.

Alianore had started digging again, only to discover that he was now Tamaki Suoh, heir to one of the most successful conglomerates in all of Japan. He wasn't dead as she had feared, rather, he was happily flirting with girls at a school halfway around the world.

It had broken Alianore's heart.

Haruhi didn't blame her, though, she did wonder, if Tamaki's playboy exterior was hiding something else. The hope that had been in his eyes when he spoke to Alianore, compared to the pain that quickly followed as she left him covered in Sex on the Beach in the middle of that exclusive bar…

Well, it made her wonder, and, if there was something more to it, did Glasses Boy know?

Maybe…

No.

Haruhi shook her head at her own thoughts. It would never work. Anyways, it wasn't like she even knew Glasses Boy.

And she likely never would.

XXX

Haruhi collapsed into a chair at a small café near her Tohoku University.

She was so tired. Exam week had just finished and all she wanted to do was find a flat spot and just sleep. But she'd promised Mei that she'd meet her here for lunch after Mei's interview at Hitachiin International for an internship.

A waitress came over and Haruhi ordered some hot tea before ignoring all the rules of polite society and putting her head down on the table.

Mei could wake her up when she arrived.

The next thing Haruhi knew was the sound of her phone ringing. She stared at her phone for a moment, not comprehending what it was. By the time she woke up enough to grab it, she realized it had stopped ringing.

She immediately hit call back.

"Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Haruhi! There you are! Where are you? You said you'd be home by five so we could have dinner together to celebrate before I go to work. And it's almost six."

"What?" Haruhi pulled her phone away so she could see the time. Her jaw dropped. Why had Mei never shown up? "Oh, I'm sorry dad! Something happened with Mei. Can we do dinner tomorrow? I'm really sorry."

"You sure everything's alright?"

"Yes, Dad, everything is fine. Don't worry."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then. I'm off, so we'll go out for dinner and have a proper celebration. I'm heading to work now."

"Okay, Dad, love you!"

"Love you, too. Have a good evening."

When they hung up Haruhi looked at her phone to see a couple text messages from Mei.

Mei: I'm sorry Haruhi! I need to cancel! They want us to wait here

Mei: OMG! HARUHI! I got the position!

Mei: I just called EVERYONE! Drinks on me at Stars at 8!

Mei: You better be there!

Mei: Hey! Answer me!

Mei: Haruhi!

Haruhi groaned and took a sip of her ice cold tea. Then she sent Mei a message.

Haruhi: I wasn't ignoring you. I fell asleep. In the MIDDLE OF THE CAFÉ, waiting for you.

Haruhi: Sure, I'll come. But I'm going home to change and shower first. So I'll be late.

Mei: OH! I'M SOOOO SORRY! I'll buy you a drink to apologize. See you soon!

Haruhi groaned again and snapped her phone closed as she slumped back onto the table. There was no point in pointing out to Mei that she'd already promised to buy drinks. Sometimes it was painful to be friends with someone like Mei.

"Um, are you okay?"

Haruhi groaned again and looked up to see a rather familiar looking short blonde boy with a very unfamiliar girl in all black.

"Do you need me to curse someone for you?" asked the girl.

"Huh? Oh, sure, you can curse my friend. That is, if you have a curse that will make her think before she acts."

"No, sorry, my curses are a bit more negative than that."

The short boy giggled, "You're funny! What's your name? I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but you can call me Hunny. This is Reiko Kanazuki, my girlfriend."

Reiko sent a glare to Hunny, "I did not yet agree to be your girlfriend!"

Hunny blushed, "Sorry! This is Reiko, my maybe girlfriend."

Reiko smiled and nodded, "That's better."

Haruhi chuckled, "You think I'm funny? I'd say you should look at yourselves." She deliberately didn't say her name, hoping they wouldn't notice. She didn't look like a good lawyer should, and since she'd be interviewing at Tachiki and Sons in a few days, she didn't want anyone to remember her this way. Tachiki and Sons did a lot of business law, it would be bad for someone as well-dressed as this couple to see her like this. Or so Masaye and Mei would say.

Hunny grinned, "Yes, we are. Now, beautiful lady, how may we help you?"

As soon as he called her beautiful lady Haruhi knew where she'd met him before. This was one of the boys who went to Ouran with Tamaki Suoh – one of the boys from Paris. One of those infamous (at least to Alianore and all of those friends with her) Ouran High School Host Club Members.

She narrowed her eyes at them, "Why do you want to help me?"

Hunny shrugged, "Reiko and I came here to eat cake a couple hours ago. You were sleeping then, now you're awake, but you don't look happy. I don't like it when people aren't happy."

Reiko chuckled, "He really doesn't. That's why we were wondering if you needed help."

Haruhi grabbed her wallet and put some money on the table for her tea. Then she smiled up at them, "Thank you for the offer, but no thank you. I was just upset that I fell asleep. I really didn't mean to. I was supposed to meet my friend here, but she had to cancel. By the time she canceled, though, I'd already fallen asleep."

"Aw, well, if you ever need help, here's my card," Hunny said, presenting her with a simple white card with black lettering.

"And here's mine," Reiko added, giving Haruhi a rather morbid looking black and red card.

Haruhi smiled and slipped both in her wallet, "Thank you, very much, goodbye!"

She gave them a quick bow and then headed out of the café as quickly as she could. She didn't want to give them enough time to realize she hadn't given them her card or even told them her name.

How could she? She hadn't had a haircut in months and she was wearing clothes that would make her father faint if he knew she was wearing them in public.

Haruhi chuckled at herself as she hopped on her bus. It was funny how friends could influence you so much. She never used to care about her looks, but ever since Mei had lectured her on how appearances are merely the first weapon in any social, she couldn't help but notice. She noticed how someone with a pleasing exterior was able to accomplish more than someone without.

She didn't think that was right or fair, but, she also recognized that that's the way world was and while she wasn't currently in a position to change it, she might end up in one if she at least attempted to play by the rules.

Which was why she was now heading home with two peoples cards in her wallet, two people that had been nothing but kind to her, and she hadn't been able to at least tell them her name.

Haruhi hung her head in shame.

She felt like a terrible person.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Here you go, a little mid-week update. I'll have another chapter up on Saturday or Sunday, we'll see what my schedule allows. Also, I just love a little HunnyxReiko interaction. I did another fic that focused on them (Everyone Loves Hunny and Reiko) which was actually the first HunnyxReiko fic here on . I actually posted it before they were made official, which I find rather amusing. It's a sequel/side story in the Facade Universe.

Oh, and if you don't get the reference to Antique Bakery, go check it out, it's an interesting little anime that my sister adores and I found pleasant.


	8. An Interview

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters.

* * *

><p>"Well, Ms. Fukuoka, it's so nice to have you interviewing here at Tachiki and Sons. Now, how about you tell me a bit about yourself? I admit, after reading your resume and accompanying documents I'm a bit curious how a girl from such an unremarkable childhood found herself in your position."<p>

Part of Haruhi was annoyed at him calling her background 'average', but, compared to how he had likely grown up, she supposed her background was average. After all, he was one of the 'Sons' in Tachiki and Sons, so his childhood was likely as different from hers as Glasses Boy's.

So, instead, she merely smiled and began speaking. The words may not have been the exact same as the ones she'd practiced with Masaye and Chiye, but they conveyed the same message.

"Well, I'd have to say that most of my life has been defined by the fact that I lost my mother at a young age. You see, she was also a lawyer and from a very young age I wanted to be just like her, only, I had no one to show me how. So I took matters into my own hands," Haruhi smiled and looked down at her hands demurely, just like Masaye had told her to. After a few seconds she looked back up, "I sent out applications for scholarships to several well-regarded private schools. I ended up accepted at Ouran High School Academy and Brekleys Academy. After careful consideration I decide upon Brekleys."

"Why?"

"At the age of fourteen I may've still been ignorant of many things, but I did realize the importance of English. I also knew that a good lawyer must truly know people. Know how they think and why they do things. I determined the best way for me to truly learn about a wide variety of people was to put myself in a position that required me to leave my comfort zone. So, I accepted Brekleys and turned Ouran down."

"Ah, and what about afterwards? Why did you go to Oxford?"

"For the same reasons I chose Brekleys, though, there were two additional reasons."

"Oh?"

"Yes, you see, when I was at Brekleys I made good friends that I never would've met in Japan. I didn't want to limit myself by going back to what I might view as safe and familiar. So, I decided on an overseas university. Again, the decision came down between two schools – Oxford and Harvard. I ultimately chose Oxford due to its location. I wanted to be able to travel and see new things easily, which cannot be accomplished in the USA without a car."

"So, you can't drive?"

Haruhi shook her head, "No, I'm sorry I gave that impression. Merely, a vehicle ties you down and places limitations on a person's mobility and time. As a full-time student I did not need such an unnecessary asset. I got my license upon returning to Japan for law school."

"Ah, yes, you went to Tohoku University, where you graduated top of your class while still managing to hold a part-time job at Tokyo National Museum working directly with Dr. Miho Koenig. May I ask how you obtained a position with such a prestigious Japanese historian?"

"Oh, yes," Haruhi smiled at him, "When I was at Brekleys I roomed with her daughters, the Koenig Twins. During a dinner at their house one evening their mother discovered my talent for organizing. She asked if I'd be able to assist her for an upcoming exhibition. And, well," Haruhi shrugged, "somehow how I ended up working with her for every exhibition."

Mr. Tachiki's eyebrows had risen quite a bit. "That's quite an impressive connection. Do you have any more that you might feel to be relevant to a young lawyer such as yourself?

Haruhi couldn't believe he'd asked that question, though she should've known he would. After all, every other prediction Masaye and Chiye had made about the interview had come true. So why wouldn't this one? According to Chiye he wanted to determine if was good at socializing with her 'betters' or if she'd just gotten lucky with roommates.

Stupid rich people.

Couldn't it be both?

Haruhi smiled and gave a little head nod. "Possibly. Now, while the Roux Family isn't Japanese, Mr. Roux is the current French ambassador to Japan. I'm good friends with his daughter, Alianore, who I went to school with at Oxford. I also was acquainted with their son Zackarie at Brekleys."

Now his eyebrows were practically one with his hairline. "Well, Ms. Fukuoka, those are some impressive connections. I just have one last question for you."

Haruhi had to fight to keep a frown off her face. Only one question? Didn't he want to know about her classes at Tohoku? Or ask her some difficult questions that gave him some clues about her thoughts on morals and ethics?

"What is the most important thing in your life currently?"

Oh, that was an easy question.

"The most important thing in my life is to achieve my goal of being the best lawyer I can possibly be."

Mr. Tachiki nodded, "Good, and would you be willing to do anything to achieve this goal?"

Haruhi nodded and answered without thinking, "Yes, if it was legal."

He grinned then and stood up. Haruhi quickly rose to her own feet.

"Very good Ms. Fukuoka. Thank you for coming to this interview. You'll receive a call in the next week or two. I hope you have a pleasant day." He gave her a short bow.

Haruhi returned it before leaving the office and making her way out of the building. As soon as she was on the street she called Masaye.

"Hello?"

"How in the world did you know he'd be so impressed by my friendship with you two and Alianore?"

"Wait! Let me put you speakerphone."

There was quiet and a beep before Haruhi heard Chiye say, "Haruhi, is that you?"

"Yes, I just finished my interview at Tachiki and-"

"Oooo! What did they say?!" Mei squealed.

Haruhi hung her head and sighed.

"Mei, you're there too?"

"Of course I am! So is Alianore!"

Haruhi began to get a very bad feeling.

"And, where, exactly are the four of you?"

"Oh! We're at your apartment! Your dad let us in before he left for work!" Alianore said cheerfully.

"Alianore! That was supposed to be a surprise!" Mei whined.

Haruhi heard Alianore snort, "The surprise disappeared as soon as you spoke! Especially after you said I was here too! I'm not even supposed to be in Japan right now! You're the idiot that gave away the surprise!"

"Take that back!" Mei yelled. "We could've still come up with some sort of lie! What if we said we were somewhere else?"

"Mei, you're an idiot! What if Haruhi decided to come meet us at this other place, and then found we weren't there?!"

"Hah! You don't really know, Haruhi, do you? She would-"

Haruhi didn't stay on the phone long enough to find out what she would or would not have done. She hung up and then pointedly turned her phone off. Why had they invaded her home? All she wanted to do was relax after such a potentially stressful interview.

Groaning, she leaned against a wall and just watched people walk by for a few minutes.

It was one of the people walking by that caught her eye, or, rather, it was what this person was wearing. It looked quite a bit like the taekwondo uniforms she'd worn at Brekleys. Curious, and needing something to do while her friends camped out in her house, she followed the person.

He led her down a few side streets until they reached a strip that contained a number of martial arts studios. Just looking down the road she saw signs advertising kendo, karate, taekwondo, kung fu, and judo. Part of her wondered how so many different types of martial arts from different cultures all ended up on the same small street, but she immediately dismissed it. There were odder things than this in Tokyo.

Looking at the Korean writing on the tae kwon do sign Haruhi had the sudden urge to begin studying again. She hadn't done anything beyond basic stretches since she left Brekleys. She'd always seen taekwondo as a requirement than something she did for herself, but now, with all the feelings bothering her about her interview and the idea that she might be hired because of her connections, not her own ability, she really needed an outlet.

And taekwondo sounded like a good one.

Smiling, Haruhi entered the taekwondo studio to sign up for classes. And, as she walked through the doorway, she put her interview behind her.

She'd worry about that when they called her.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well, she's had an interview for a position as a lawyer and is settling into her new, post-education life. Now, where will this take her? Should have the next chapter up on Wednesday or Thursday. It's Lunar New Year here in Korea this week though and I need to go with my husband to visit my family, so if I don't get it up on Wed or Thur I apologize.

Enjoy!


	9. Just a Job

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters.

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><p>Haruhi was exhausted.<p>

Piles upon piles of papers sat around her and all she could think was, 'Why hadn't they made all of this digital?'

Her brain had shut down, something which, in the only corner of her brain that was still functioning enough to keep her alive, surprised her since not in all her years of studying had she encountered such a predicament.

Why had she accepted this job?

She'd been here for almost two years and the most meaningful thing she'd done was fetch coffee for one of the partners trying to put a child murderer away for life. And, while putting a child murderer away for life was something to be proud of, fetching coffee for the person that did that duty was not.

She wanted to do things! She wanted to help people! Not work long hours shifting paperwork because she'd been hired only due to her connections.

She couldn't believe that.

She'd been straight up hired, they hadn't even made her do an internship. That, of course, had made her no friends with her peers. Despite the fact that the only difference between them and her was the fact that she got paid.

Actually, now that she thought about it, that was quite a big difference. Though she did put in more hours than them – most of them left promptly at five, while she was often at work past eight.

Abruptly the lights turned off, cutting off her thoughts.

Haruhi sat up quickly and called out, "Excuse me! There's still someone here!"

Just as abruptly the lights came back on and a soft voice called out, "Oh! I'm so sorry! I thought it was empty."

A small man with a round, friendly face appeared in the entryway to her cubicle. Haruhi recognized him instantly – Mamoru Tachiki, Mr. Tachiki's youngest son and most recent addition to Tachiki and Sons. He'd only been here for a month.

"Hello! I'm Mamoru Tachiki, but you probably know that. You're Haruhi Fujioka, aren't you? My brother, Kenichi, was very impressed with you. He's been very angry at my father for not utilizing you properly. Did you know that? No, you probably didn't. Anyways, they're setting up a staff for me and Kenichi suggested that you'd be perfect to head it, but Father's being stubborn. I'm sure you know how fathers can be, right? I'm so glad I got to meet you! Now that I've met you I'll second Kenichi's recommendation. That will make Father back down, he can never say no to both of us. I think he feels guilty for spending so much time here when we were growing up, but I'm no mind reader, so he may just be very susceptible to family pressure. Oh! It's almost nine, are you leaving?"

Haruhi found herself blinking owlishly at this motor-mouth. Not even Alianore could say quite this much in such a short period time.

"Well? Are you leaving?" he asked again.

"Um, yes, yes I am. I hadn't realized what time it was."

Mamoru frowned and leaned over so he could see what was on her desk.

"Really? Are tax returns from twenty years ago that intriguing? Why are you looking at them anyways? Kenichi told me they had all of the old files digitized three years ago."

"What?!"

"Oh, yeah, they had a surplus of interns that year, so Kenichi had them spend most of the year digitizing everything." Now he frowned, "You didn't know, did you? Who told you to look at these?"

"Mr. Tachiki, your father."

Mamoru's frown turned into a scowl, "Father…That doesn't surprise me. I bet he's done this a lot to you over the past two years. How come you never said anything to Kenichi? He's the one that hired you."

Haruhi shrugged noncommittally, her position wasn't as secure as Mamoru's, she wasn't related to the boss, she couldn't complain about him.

"Hmph, well, it's Friday night, let's get out of here. Hey! I have an idea! How about we go grab I drink? We should probably get to know each other some since you're going to be leading my staff. Or maybe I'll be leading yours?" He chuckled, "You know, I never wanted to be a lawyer? I wanted to travel the world and write about the grand adventures I had, but father vetoed that. So, here I am, doing a job I hate for a man I love."

Haruhi tried to imagine her father vetoing any of her choices in life and just couldn't picture it. He'd never been able to deny her anything. And while he sometimes acted like a big baby when she did something he didn't like, he never truly tried to stop her. Haruhi smiled, she really had an amazing father.

As for working with Mamoru, she had the feeling that Mr. Tachiki would not like it.

And it was for that reason that Haruhi said, "Sure, I can grab a drink with you."

"Great! Let's go!"

Within an hour Haruhi found herself comfortably ensconced in a small bar not too far from her tae kwon do studio. It was a place she'd passed by three times a week for the past two years, but she'd never once thought about entering.

Mamoru ordered them both 300cc of the Kirin on tap and neither of them spoke until they'd take a sip. Haruhi watched in amazement as Mamoru actually groaned in pleasure.

He saw her expression and chuckled.

"I've been in England for the past few years, the only Japanese beer I could get there was canned."

"Ah, I know what you mean," said Haruhi. "I went to Oxford for my bachelors. My friends did get me to develop a taste for good, German beer though. The stuff they don't export because it would go bad too fast."

"Really? You went to Oxford?! So did I! In fact, one of my old buddies is in town for a few weeks. Mind if I invite him to join us? We can have a little Oxford reunion on the streets of Tokyo!" He grinned widely at this idea.

Haruhi couldn't help but grin back, his grins were infectious. "Sure! But, do you mind if I invite a couple of my old Oxford friends?"

"Sure! The more the merrier!"

Alianore agreed to come right away. Apparently her brother was driving her crazy and all she wanted to do was get out of the house. Mei agreed to come, but only after Haruhi told her it was okay to bring the guy she was currently hanging out with. Masaye and Chiye politely declined. Apparently their mother was hosting a dinner with some rather big names and they couldn't easily escape.

They ordered another couple of beers while they waited for everyone and reminisced about their time at Oxford. Though it was Mamoru who did most of the talking, Haruhi didn't know how anyone could talk so much.

It was Mei and her date that were the first to arrive, about an hour after she'd been called.

"HARUHI! Oooo, who's this cutie pie?" she asked, looking Mamoru up and down.

Mamoru turned a rather bright red and Haruhi laughed, feeling something inside of her begin to crack as the beer began to make her unwind. "This is Mamoru. He works with me. I just found out he went to Oxford also."

"Oooo, really!? That's so exciting!"

Haruhi laughed even harder. Apparently Mei had already been drinking.

"I'm so glad to meet you Mamoru! Oh! This is Umehito Nekozawa!"

Haruhi put her hands over her ears, "Mei! Stop shouting or they're going to make us leave."

"Oh! Sorry!" she might've turned red; it was hard to tell under all the makeup.

Haruhi glanced over at the bartender to see him glaring at them. She smiled politely at him and then turned back to the group.

"How about we go wait outside for everyone else? And then find somewhere else to go?"

Mamoru glanced over at the bartender and then nodded his agreement, "That sounds like a smart idea."

Mei and Umehito followed Mamoru and Haruhi out of the bar. As soon as they got outside Mei started telling them about the dresses she was designing at Hitachiin International as they waited.

It didn't take too long for Haruhi to spot Alianore walking down the street.

"My friend's here," she said, interrupting Mei.

"So is mine," Mamoru said.

Haruhi turned to see where Mamoru was looking, and then she burst out laughing.

There, coming up the street, from the opposite direction, was Zackarie, Alianore's little brother.

She started laughing even harder when Zackarie and Alianore caught sight of each other. They immediately pointed at each other and yelled, "Tu!"

And then they began yelling at each other in French, much too fast for Haruhi, so she just kept laughing at the entire situation. And, as she laughed she felt all of the stress from the past two years leak out of her until she was empty and ready to face her job again. After all, it was just a job; it couldn't keep her down – especially when she had such amazing friends.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Sorry about the delay. Things have been busy. So, a bit of Nekozawa and Mei fun. More canon Host Club characters in the next chapter.

Enjoy!


	10. King of Fighters

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters.

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><p>Haruhi had to fight to hold back a yawn as she began stretching. Last night had been an adventure that hadn't ended until well past midnight, which meant she'd barely dragged herself out of bed in time for her Saturday morning tae kwon do class.<p>

Luckily she didn't have a hangover, but she was probably the only one. Everyone else had kept drinking long after Haruhi had switched to water – which had led to some rather shocking events.

Or, perhaps, not so shocking.

There had Umehito's little cat puppet, who had regaled them all with rather bawdy stories. So bawdy in fact, that even Mei had begun blushing through all of her makeup. Haruhi didn't think there was enough bleach in all of Japan to get those stories out of her head.

Then there had been Alianore and Zackarie, who, after a number of shots, had admitted that they really did respect and love each other. This had surprised no one except the two siblings, who had broken down into happy, drunken sobs as they hugged each other. Though, that hadn't stopped them from arguing later on about who was better at charming boys.

It was Mei who had suggested that the only way to prove who was the best was to have them test their skills.

Umehito's naughty little puppet had them suggested they use Mamoru for the test.

All Haruhi could do was watch in mild amusement as her drunken friends tried to charm her drunken coworker/boss, who had quickly turned a bright red before turning both of the Roux siblings down.

Haruhi stopped reminiscing about the previous evening as soon as the door opened. Out of curiosity she looked over to see a familiar face.

Standing in the entryway to the studio was Mitsukuni Haninozuka, or Hunny, as he'd told her to call him. Standing right behind Hunny was a very tall and muscular man that Haruhi remembered from her two previous run-ins with the Ouran Host Club.

"Ah! Mr. Haninozuka! And Mr. Morinozuka! I'm so glad you were able to make it!" Haruhi's teacher, Mr. Tsuda, said as he gave them a welcoming bow.

Hunny grinned cheerfully, "Anything for you Mr. Tsuda!"

Mr. Tsuda turned about to Haruhi and the rest of the class. They had all stopped stretching by now to focus on their teacher and these newcomers. Haruhi saw recognition and awe on a couple of her classmates faces and she wondered just what these two were famous for. She already knew they were rich and well-connected, so it didn't really surprise her that they were fairly well-known either. The question was, what were they known for?

"Class, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Mr. Takashi Morinozuka. Mr. Haninozuka is a master martial artist. His specialization is the Haninozuka style, which was created by his family. He is currently undefeated in every contest he has taken part in. Mr. Morinozuka is also an accomplished martial artist, he is a national champion in kendo and also very skilled in karate."

Hunny and Mr. Morinozuka gave small head bobs in acknowledgement of what Mr. Tsuda was saying.

Mr. Tsuda continued to talk about their accomplishments, but Haruhi wasn't paying attention. Rather, she was staring in shock at tiny little Hunny.

This little guy was a master martial artist?

Possibly the best in the country?

It did not compute.

"-and that's why I'd like Ms. Fujioka, as one of our more advanced students, to do a demonstration of the forms required for the black belt."

Haruhi's eyes whipped over to Mr. Tsuda and she blinked owlishly at him, her sleepy brain not comprehending what she'd just heard.

Hunny spoke up, "Only if it's okay with Ms. Fujioka. Are you okay with showing us some things?" He walked over and looked up at her, smiling cutely. Haruhi heard several of the other girls in the class squeal at how adorable he was. "I don't want you to do anything you don't like."

As Haruhi looked down at big baby-like eyes she felt her shock depart. She smiled cheerfully at him and said, "I'd be happy to demonstrate."

He grinned back at her from ear to ear and in that moment, Haruhi knew that he recognized her. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew it as surely as her own name.

That didn't stop her from going to the front of the room and moving through all of the black belt forms. She'd wonder what his recognizing her meant after the class was over. Tae Kwon Do was her escape from her worries about her career and all the social 'rules' Masaye and Chiye had been dumping on her since high school.

After Haruhi finished her demonstration Hunny showed them how his family had taken some of the tae kwon do moves and incorporated them into Haninozuka style. While Haruhi was very good at the forms she'd studied – she'd expect nothing less from herself – she wasn't big on the 'art' of martial arts. Tae Kwon Do was a means of escape and peace for her, as well as a way to keep herself and her friends safe. She never forgot how it had helped her save Zackarie and herself from Kyle Styles and his buddies.

She still found a modicum of satisfaction that he'd been thrown out of Brekleys once his misdeeds had come to light. It was one of her first experiences with seeing how rules and a justice system truly helped people.

Once Hunny's demonstrations were over he and Mr. Morinozuka joined the class and Mr. Tsuda took them through a variety of exercises. And then class was over.

Considering how tired she was, Haruhi was not sad that they hadn't done any sparring.

When she stepped out of the studio after showering and changing she found Hunny and his tall friend waiting for her.

She wasn't surprised.

As soon as Hunny saw her he bounded up to her, grabbed her hand in his and smiled up at her.

"It's so nice to see you again! Reiko and I were so sad you never contacted us! You seem like such a nice person."

Haruhi felt her face turn pink and she tried to extract her hand from his, but his grip was much too strong.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I started a new job and got very busy," Haruhi said quietly. She really didn't want to lie to this man. He seemed much too nice.

Hunny began to pull her down the small street. "That's okay! I'll forgive you if you come have cake with me."

Since he had a death grip on her hand and Mr. Morinozuka was now towering over her as he walked behind her and Hunny she could only say, "That would be nice."

It didn't really feel like a situation from which she could extract herself.

The three of them came to the end of the small side street where a very nice car was waiting. Hunny pulled Haruhi into the back seat with him as Mr. Morinozuka got into the passenger's seat.

As soon as they were moving Hunny turned to Haruhi and smiled cheerfully. Actually, now that Haruhi thought about it, she realized that he always seemed to be smiling.

"Now, I know your family name is Fujioka, so what's your first name?"

"You can call me Haruhi," she replied honestly. There didn't seem to be any point in hiding her identity now. There wasn't much this small man could do to affect her goal. Not with Mr. Tachiki trying to sabotage her at every turn. Though, from what Mamoru said last night, she wondered if things might start to look up soon at work.

"Haruhi," he seemed to contemplate her name for a minute. His face becoming more serious than she thought it ever could. Then he abruptly grinned, "I like it! It suites you very much! I'm so glad I found you again. I don't know why, but it felt like we're supposed to be friends. Mori disagreed with me, he said I was being silly, but he'd never met you."

Haruhi frowned, "Mori? Who's Mori?"

A deep, rich voice from the front of the car spoke and Haruhi jumped in surprise. She'd begun to think that Mr. Morinozuka was mute.

"I'm Mori."

Haruhi smiled politely at Mori as he turned in his seat to look at her, "Nice to meet you Mr. Morinozuka."

"Call me Mori," he said, a corner of his mouth twitching up.

The rest of the car drive was taken up by Hunny asking her about tae kwon do and how long she'd studied and if she'd ever had to use it. She'd tried to dodge that question, but he hadn't let her get away with that this time. So she soon found herself telling him about her rescue of Zackarie.

His eyes were wide and filled with respect as he made her walk him through every move she'd made in that fight. And, for some reason, she knew that his respect was completely genuine, despite the fact that he was probably one of the best martial artists in the world. That made her feel nice, but also a bit uncomfortable. If people were going to look at her with awe she wanted them to do so because of her skill in a courtroom battle, not a street fight. It just didn't seem right.

When she had finished going over the fight Mori turned around in his seat again and Haruhi could see respect in his eyes as he spoke.

"You did a good job."

"He's right!" Hunny exclaimed. "That was amazing for someone that had only been studying for a few years. You should come and study at my family's dojo. Haninozuka style is very good for shorter people. I think you'd enjoy it."

"He's right," Mori chipped in.

Haruhi shook her head, "No, thank you. I study tae kwon do to relax and enjoy myself. I'm not a very athletic person."

Haruhi realized her mistake at turning Hunny down right away.

His eyes got very big and she thought she saw tears appear as he said, "Haru-chan, please come to just one class. I promise it will be fun and relaxing! Pretty, please?"

Haruhi could only hold contact with those eyes for a minute before she sighed and said, "Okay, one class."

"Hooray!" Hunny shouted as the car pulled through a gate and into the largest private compound she'd ever seen.

Haruhi had forcefully stop herself from muttering, "Rich bastards," as they pulled up to one of the many beautiful and traditional residences.

What was she getting herself into?

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>While the title does reference Hunny, it's also a bit amusing since it's the name of this series of Japanese games for the NeoGeo console (my husband owns the majority of them) where different fighters are competing for the highest title (kinda like street fighter, I think...I'm more of a strategy and role playing gamer). My husband bought the console and a couple games when we visited Fukuoka two summers ago.


	11. Troubles at Teatime

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters.

* * *

><p>"Rei-chan! I'm home!" Hunny yelled as he bounded into his home.<p>

Immediately a glaring Reiko stuck her head out of one of the doorways. "Hunny, if you wake up Genji or Fusao I will curse you!" she hissed.

"Does that mean they're asleep? Can we have cake then?" he whispered.

Reiko's eyes narrowed as she stared at Hunny and Haruhi began to wonder if she would get to witness a cursing when Reiko caught sight of her.

"Who are you? And why do I recognize you?"

Hunny bounded up to Reiko, pulling Haruhi behind him, with Mori quietly following them. "Rei-chan! This is Haru-chan! Don't you remember? We met her two years ago in Antique Bakery. She was that girl who slept all afternoon."

Reiko's eyes moved up and down Haruhi for several moments before she nodded, "Ah, yes, I remember you. You look much different now."

Haruhi shrugged, "Well, things change in two years."

Reiko glanced down at her left hand before looking back up at Haruhi and giving her a small smile, "Indeed they do."

Hunny turned to look at Mori, who'd been silently watching them, "Mori, will you eat cake with his."

Mori shook his head, "I need to see Satoshi."

"Okay! Have fun and see you tomorrow!"

Mori gave them a small bow, "Goodbye, it was nice meeting you Ms. Fujioka."

Haruhi smiled at this quiet, seemingly gentle giant, "It was nice meeting you, too. And please call me Haruhi."

Mori smiled at that before turning and leaving the house. She watched him go before turning back to Reiko and Hunny, who were staring at her in shock for some reason.

She frowned, "Is something wrong?"

"He smiled at you," Reiko whispered, "and he almost never smiles."

Hunny shook the shock off his face and grinned again, "I was right! We're going to be great friends!"

An hour later Haruhi found herself ensconced at a small table filled with cake and tea. Hunny was quickly devouring cake and in-between bites he was informing her of all the different types of cakes it was possible to make.

Haruhi and Reiko had long ago given up trying to keep up with him, though Reiko obediently leaned forward to take a bite of cake whenever Hunny offered her one.

Haruhi couldn't help but smile as she watched the two of them interact, they obviously loved each other very much. It reminded Haruhi of how her parents used to look at each other.

This pleasant afternoon tea was abruptly interrupted by the door to the parlor banging open and a loud wailing voice calling out, "HUNNY! Help me!"

All three of them jerked, Haruhi barely avoiding spilling hot tea on her lap, and looked at the doorway.

Tamaki Suoh stood there with tears streaming down his face as he panted for breath. He opened his mouth to speak again when a loud wail broke through the air, quickly followed by another one.

Reiko scowled and stood up quickly, "Tamaki Suoh! I curse you with all the powers instilled in me by the spirits of motherhood! How DARE you wake them!" A small piece of paper flew across the room and hit Tamaki square in the middle of his forehead. His eyes immediately rolled back in his head and he fell to the floor. Haruhi could've sworn that little birds started flying around his head, but that could've been a trick of the light.

"Hmph!" Reiko snorted as she stepped over Tamaki and swept out of the room, heading towards the crying babies.

Haruhi sat frozen in her chair, unsure of if she should stay with Hunny or follow Reiko to help with the babies. It only took a minute for her to decide to stay put. She knew absolutely nothing about babies.

Hunny sighed and shook his head before hopping off of his seat and going to Tamaki. He whispered something and then pulled the small piece of paper off of Tamaki's forehead. Immediately Tamaki sat up, rubbing his forehead.

"Well, Tamaki, what is it this time? Did Kyoya call you an idiot again?" Hunny asked in a very calm and serious manner. Haruhi couldn't quite equate this Hunny with the one that had been happily going on about angel food cakes as he feed Reiko bites.

Tamaki shook his head to clear it and then looked up at Hunny from his space on the floor, tears were once again pouring from his eyes. "It's so much worse than that Hunny! I-I-I need your help!"

Hunny sighed and sat down on the floor next to Tamaki. "What do you need my help with?"

"How…How did you get Reiko to stop hating you?" he said between sobs.

Hunny smiled softly, "Silly Tamaki, she never hated me. She just didn't know what love was. She thought I'd stolen her heart, she didn't realize that she'd given it to me, or that I would happily give her mine once I got to know her."

Somehow, Tamaki started sobbing harder, "Then I'm doomed!"

Haruhi vaguely noted that the babies had stopped crying. Most of her attention was focused on the two blonde men sitting on the floor. This sobbing Tamaki was nothing like the boy Alianore had told them about. Was it possible she'd misjudged him? Was something else going on?

"Tamaki, why are you doomed?" Hunny asked calmly.

"It's…It's Alianore! She hates me! She won't even listen to me when I try to explain!"

Haruhi sat there for a moment, watching Tamaki sob as Hunny patted him on the back. She quickly ran through every conversation she'd had with Alianore about Tamaki. What Alianore had told her did not match up with this sobbing man on the floor. This piece of evidence, combined with Haruhi's innate desire to discover the truth and see justice done, made her get up from her chair. She walked over to the two men and sat down herself.

Tamaki jerked in shock when she reached out and touched his shoulder. Haruhi didn't think he'd even realized she was in the room.

"Who…who are you?" he asked, his shock momentarily stopping his sobs, though he was still breathing hard.

"I'm Haruhi Fujioka." She smiled comfortingly at him, "What did you mean by explain?"

Tamaki studied her face for a moment, searching for something. After a moment he relaxed and began to speak.

"I need her to know that I never meant to leave her. One day a man showed up. He took my mother and me. He told me that if I wanted her to get better I had to come with him to Japan and give up everything in France. I tried to refuse, I didn't think she was that sick, but then he showed me her health records." He began to cry again, albeit softly, "She only had months to live if she didn't get special, expensive treatment. So, I agreed. I signed a paper that made me swear off all contact with anyone in France until I came of age. If I was found breaking this agreement than all treatment for my mother would immediately cease, even if it meant her death." He shrugged sadly, "There was nothing I could do. I was just a kid and my mom was sick. So, I came to Japan and made the best of things. I promised myself that I'd go back to France when I came of age and tell Alianore the truth," he hung his head and continued to cry softly.

All sorts of things were beginning to make sense in Haruhi's head, but she needed one more piece of evidence before she presented the evidence to the only jury that mattered – Alianore.

"Tamaki, were you of age when she threw that drink at you in Paris?"

Tamaki's head jerked up and he stared at her in shock, "How-how do you know about that?!"

Haruhi opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Hunny.

"You were one of the girls with Alianore weren't you? That's why you wouldn't tell me your name in the Antique Bakery two years ago!" He frowned in thought, searching his memories. "You were the one that made Kyoya so angry!"

"Kyoya? You mean Glasses Boy?"

Tamaki started to chuckle, wiping away some of his tears absently, "You call him Glasses Boy? I like it!"

"His real name is Kyoya Ootori," Hunny said, handing Tamaki a handkerchief.

"Ah, well, yes, that was me." She looked Tamaki firmly in the eyes, "I'm good friends with Alianore – have been since we went to Oxford together. If everything you said today is true I'll talk to her and see if she'll meet with you, to let her explain in person."

Tamaki's eyes began to sparkle and he smiled, looking much more like the boy she'd meet in Paris years ago. "Really? You'll do that for me beautiful lady? Oh! I shall be forever in your debt. Alianore is the only one for me, if only she'll let me prove that I never stopped loving her."

"Really? You can help Tama-chan?" Hunny asked, immediately reverting back to his cute self.

Haruhi smiled, "All I can do is tell Alianore what Tamaki told me today. We'll see if that's enough to get her to listen."

"Thank you," Tamaki exclaimed, jumping to his feet, all traces of crying now gone from his face. "And no need to be modest. You succeeded in making Kyoya angry, and on a first meeting, too! I know you'll succeed in getting Alianore to at least give me a chance to explain!"

Haruhi hoped his faith in her was not misplaced. She had the feeling that convincing Alianore might just involve copious amounts of alcohol and possibly a rope – so as to hold her down long enough to hear Haruhi out. Since the last time Tamaki's name had been mentioned near her, she'd become so angry that Haruhi was fairly sure there were still feelings there. So, it was her goal to help her friends be happy, if she was able to.

And, to achieve this goal she'd probably need the help of Masaye and Chiye.

They were the most devious people she knew.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>More Hunny and Reiko goodness followed by a nice dose of Tamaki. She's just getting drawn deeper, and deeper into the Host Club.

Enjoy! :)


	12. Operation Forbidden Love

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters.

* * *

><p>It took a week for Haruhi to arrange what Mei quickly dubbed, "Operation Forbidden Love." Though it had only taken her Sunday to do some digging and confirm what he had told her. She also hadn't been surprised that forcing a minor to make such a deal was illegal in both France and Japan. All sorts of things changed in her life during that week.<p>

On Monday she was sent an email by Mr. Tachiki's secretary. It informed her that she'd be working directly under Mamoru Tachiki, the youngest son.

The rest of the week she was busy helping Mamoru get setup in his office and helping put the rest of his support staff together. No one would've known from looking at them that the two of them were becoming fast friends. They maintained a very professional relationship at work.

They'd even grabbed dinner and a beer after work on Friday. This time only Zackarie had joined them. So, Haruhi had decided to bring both guys in on 'Operation Forbidden Love', since they still needed someone else to make the plan go off perfectly. And, of course, to bring Zackarie in, she had to tell them everything that Tamaki had told her, since Zackarie had known Tamaki back in France.

"You're trying to WHAT?" Zackarie exclaimed. "Haruhi! That's so unlike you!"

Mamoru nodded in agreement, "I've only known you for a week and it does seem against your character."

Haruhi shrugged, "It is against my natural inclinations, but I thought through all of the different ways I could make Alianore listen, and this is the one most likely to succeed. Besides, it's about time I put to use all of the lessons in deception Chiye and Masaye taught me."

"If you say so, what do you need me to do?" Zackarie asked.

"Is there any I can help also?" Mamoru asked, "I miss having adventures."

Haruhi smiled, "Sure, Mamoru, you can help. Here's what I need you to do…"

Carefully she explained everything. By the time they left the restaurant everything was set. The plan would unfold the next evening.

XXX

Haruhi met everyone at a shabu shabu restaurant. Haruhi took over the cooking of the meat. Soon enough the sake was flowing and Mei challenged them all to a few drinking games.

Naturally, or perhaps not so naturally, Alianore lost them all.

By the time they left the restaurant, Alianore was practically asleep on her feet. The girls had trouble getting het to walk properly, which made them all extremely happy to see Mamoru and Zackarie walk past the restaurant.

"Mamoru! Zackarie!" Mei called out, "Could you lend us a hand? I'm afraid Alianore had a bit too much sake."

"Of course! We'll always help maidens in distress!" Zackarie said with a very extravagant bow, which made the Koenig twins snicker and Alianore roll her eyes.

"Zack, you're such a dork," Alianore said, slurring her words.

Zackarie chuckled as he and Mamoru took over supporting Alianore. "Whatever, sis, you'll thank me later."

"When pigs fly," she muttered.

Mamoru chuckled, "You two are amusing. Follow me, my car is this way." He pointed down the street and everyone followed him. About halfway to the car Alianore began letting out a quiet snore.

Chiye and Haruhi fell back behind everyone else.

"Do you still need Masaye and me? A couple of guys just messaged us; they've been trying to get us to agree to a date for forever and they're in the area. We can test the waters and decide if we want to go on a real date with them."

"You guys are going on a date together?" Haruhi asked.

Chiye shrugged, "Masaye and I, we're close, you know that. We need anyone we date to understand that."

"Chiye, I've never known either of you to date anyone."

She shrugged, "Well, we've just never found anyone that understands. This time will probably be no different, but Masaye wants to try, she thinks one of them is cute."

Haruhi looked at Alianore slumped between Mamoru and Zackarie. Between the two guys, Mei, and herself, they should be able to pull off the rest of the plan.

"Sure, I think we can manage. I'll call if we need you."

"Great! Masaye, let's go!"

Masaye grinned, grabbed her twin's hand and the two of them turned and went back the way they had come. Haruhi felt a bit sorry for the two boys they were going to meet. She had the feeling that they'd need it.

Alianore never woke as they deposited her in the car and drove to Mamoru's apartment. He was the only one living alone.

Mamoru put his sailing skills to good use and carefully tied Alianore to the only chair in apartment. He then poured Haruhi a glass of ice water.

She put the glass up to Alianore's neck. She quickly began mumbling and stirring. Then Haruhi put the glass to Alianore's lips, where she drank quickly, so quickly that she started coughing, she tried to raise her hand to her mouth and found it wouldn't move.

Alianore's eyes immediately flew open and looked around her quickly. She visibly relaxed when she saw Mei and Haruhi standing in front of her.

"Girls, what are you doing? Why am I tied up? Is this some sort of joke?"

Mei shook her head, "Nope, we just needed you to sit still long enough for us to talk to you."

Alianore frowned, her brain still foggy, "Talk to me? About what? What's going on?"

"We need to talk about Tamaki Suoh," Haruhi said in her calm, lawyer voice.

Alianore's eyes widened, "TAMAKI?!"

Haruhi nodded, "Yes, you see, I ran into him last week."

Immediately Alianore's eyes narrowed again, "What did that scumbag say?"

Haruhi sighed, "Alianore, he was sobbing. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so upset before."

"Hmph! Serves him right! Trying to talk to me after the way he treated me!"

"Alianore, have you ever stopped to listen to what he has to say?"

"Listen? Why should I listen to him? He'll just pull that host club crap of his and try to get me to forgive him."

"Why must you be so stubborn?"

Zackarie chuckled from his seat behind Alianore, "She's the Queen of Stubborn, that's why?"

"ZACK?! What the HELL are you doing here?! Untie me at once! As your big sister I command it! You know what Tamaki did! You know everything!"

"Sorry sister, but I already listened to what Haruhi had to say, and I trust her. She doesn't misjudge people. I think you should give Tamaki a chance to explain. Plus, she did some research to verify what he told her."

Alianore closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly released it.

"Okay, Haruhi, if you verified his story, I'll listen, but I make no promises to forgive."

Haruhi smiled, "Do you want me to tell you? Or do you want me to arrange a meeting so he can tell you?"

"I think–"

She was interrupted by a doorbell.

Haruhi frowned and looked at the door, "Who…"

"Um…I'll get it!" Zackarie said quickly, jumping up and running over to the doorway.

He opened the door a crack and Haruhi could just make him out as he hissed, "I told you to wait downstairs!"

"I couldn't wait any longer!" a very familiar voice whined.

Haruhi sighed, "Mamoru, Mei, untie her. Alianore, I'm sorry, but it looks like your idiot brother took the decision out of your hands. Do you want me to make him go away?"

Alianore glared at her brother, who was still whispering heatedly with Tamaki.

"No, I'll handle them."

And, once she was untied, she did handle them.

She stormed over to the door, grabbed the back of Zackarie's shirt and forcibly removed him, while at the same time grabbing the door handle and swinging it open.

On the other side of the doorway stood Tamaki Suoh, backed by the two redheaded twins Haruhi had encountered twice before.

Zackarie was smart enough to back away from Alianore once he regained his balance. Haruhi found it rather interesting that he ended up hiding behind Mamoru, who was just relaxing on the far side of the room, watching everything with an expression of mild amusement.

"Well, Tamaki, I'm listening," Alianore said coldly.

Tamaki opened his mouth to speak, but no sound emerged. It was Kaoru who spoke instead.

"Uh, boss, do you need us to do something?"

"Yeah, boss," Hikaru added, "this situation does not look terribly safe." His eyes seemed fixed on the way Alianore's curly hair was beginning to move around her head, like a tornado was brewing in that mass of curls.

Tamaki closed his mouth, gulped, and then opened it again. This time sound emerged, "Uh, no, I'm fine. I-I need to talk to Alianore." He glanced around the apartment, at all the people watching him. He gulped again, "Um, Alianore, can we, um, go somewhere else?"

She glanced over her shoulder and took in the four pairs of eyes watching them before turning to look at the twins. "Okay, but those two don't come."

"Of course!" Tamaki said as he grabbed Alianore's hand and pulled her past the twins and out of Haruhi's sight.

"Well, do you think she'll really listen?" Mei asked.

"I think she will, she'll realize that things won't add up if she doesn't. She's smart," Haruhi said.

"I agree," Zackarie said, "but, in the meantime, what do we do with those two?" He pointed at the twins, who were looking down the hallway after Tamaki and Alianore, twin expressions of mischief on their faces.

Haruhi's eyes narrowed, these two troublemakers weren't going to mess up her plan, not if she had anything to say about it!

"Mei?" Haruhi asked.

"Yes?"

"Operation Distract Twins."

Mei grinned, "One."

"Two," Haruhi said.

"Three," they said together as they moved forwards. They each managed to grab one of the arms of the twins just as they turned to move down the hallway.

Before the boys knew what had happened they were yanked into the apartment, with two girls between them and the only exit.

"HEY! What did you do that for? That really hurt!" Hikaru said as he rubbed the arm that Haruhi had grabbed.

Haruhi snorted, "Oh, stop being such a baby, Hikaru."

The twins froze and looked at her in shock, "How do you know our names?" they said together.

Haruhi rolled her eyes, what was it with twins? "Your names? As far as I know you each have your own name. You're Hikaru," she said pointing, "and you're Kaoru. Now, come sit, we're not letting you go anywhere until Tamaki and Alianore have talked."

She moved to go sit next to Mei, who'd taken a seat next to Zackarie and Mamoru. When the twins didn't follow she turned to face them and put her hands on her hips.

"Come on! I know the rest of your partners in crime aren't here, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourselves."

Their eyes grew even wider.

"P-p-partners in crime?" Kaoru stuttered.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at them. How were these people friends with someone as smart and complicated as Hunny, or someone as serious and strong as Mori?

"Yes, partners in crime – the rest of your Ouran Host Club. If you want I can call and ask Hunny to come, but I doubt that Reiko would like it. She'd probably curse me. Now, Mori might come. Especially if we told him that you're trying to hurt the reconciliation of Tamaki and Alianore."

The twins abruptly sat on the floor where they'd been standing, still staring at her in shock.

"Wait, Haruhi, their names are Kaoru and Hikaru?" Mei asked.

Haruhi nodded, taking a seat and taking the cola Mamoru handed her.

Mei's eyes grew really wide.

"Then-then that means….they're my bosses sons! The Hitachiin Twins!"

Haruhi looked over at the two shell-shocked redheads and then back at Mei, "So?"

"So, that means you can't just say things to them! They're extremely well-connected and powerful! You'll lose your job if they say so!"

Mamoru started laughing at that.

Mei scowled at him, "What?"

"Mei, don't you know my name?"

She frowned at him, "Why is your name important?"

"I'm Mamoru Tachiki."

Mei's eyes widened as she realized what his name meant when combined with the fact that he was sitting on the floor of his apartment with Haruhi and her friends.

"Oooo, well, then go right ahead, Haruhi. From what Mrs. Hitachiin says, these two boys need to be taken down a peg or two."

"Well, if anyone can take a pair of annoying twins down a few pegs it would be Haruhi," Zackarie said.

Haruhi looked at the twins and shook her head, "But what if I don't want to take them down a few pegs?"

Everyone laughed, but it was Mei that said, "Doesn't matter if you want to or not, you can't help yourself."

"You really can't," put in Zackarie.

Haruhi sighed and stared at the twins, she supposed they were right. She really couldn't help it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>And with the addition of the twins she's now met, and is getting to know, five of the six male Host Club members. Just another chapter or two of friendship focus and our male lead will enter the show.

Enjoy! :)


	13. A Peg or Two

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters.

* * *

><p>Haruhi left work on Monday smiling. Working with Mamoru was a real treat. He was very smart and clear-headed, despite his bad habit of talking uncontrollably when excited or nervous. Actually looking forward to work was such a novelty to her. She'd dreaded Monday so much over the past two years, it was nice not to wake up with a heavy heart that she had to carefully hide from her father.<p>

The smile disappeared off of her face as soon as she walked out of the revolving door.

Leaning against one of the columns outside were the Hitachiin Twins. Haruhi barely had time to wonder what they were doing here before they were right in front of her.

"Yes?" she asked.

Hikaru smiled, "Well, lovely lady, we're here to court you and unravel your mysteries."

Haruhi's brows rose, she looked over at Kaoru, who she judged to be the saner of the two from her limited experience with them, "And you agree with this ridiculous plan?"

Kaoru grinned and nodded.

She sighed, "You two do realize that I have no mysteries, right?"

The two of them snickered. "Of course you have mysteries, everyone has mysteries," Kaoru said.

Haruhi shook her head, "You're wrong. Anyways, what's this nonsense about courting me? There are two of you and only one of me."

Hikaru gave her a sly grin, "Oh, sweet Haruhi, don't you realize that we share everything?"

"Besides," said Kaoru, tears coming to his eyes, "I could never live without Hikaru."

"That doesn't mean you two need to share one girl," Haruhi said flatly. She had the feeling they were about to try the brotherly love act that she'd witnessed ten years previously.

"Oh, but it does!" said Hikaru. "You see," he reached over and pulled Kaoru close to him, "I could never let anyone touch my beloved brother without me there."

"Do-do you mean that Hikaru," Kaoru said in a stage whisper.

"Of course I do! You know how jealous I am!"

"How-how could I forget?" said Kaoru breathlessly.

The two of them were so busy staring into each other's eyes that they didn't notice her roll her own before walking away.

By the time they realized she wasn't watching their show she was already in her tae kwon do studio, warming up.

That didn't stop them from trying to corner her again the next day. Luckily this was the day she was supposed to try Haninozuka style, so Hunny appeared mere seconds after the twins cornered her. He got her out of there mere seconds after that.

The twins were not happy.

On Wednesday she went out through one of the service entrances, making her way to the subway unmolested.

On Thursday she took the service entrance again, only to find Hikaru already there, scowling at her.

"You, Haruhi Fujioka, are one slippery fish," he said as he pushed something on his phone.

"Oh, put a sock in it, Hikaru. Can't you tell I'm not interested?"

He just scowled harder, "How do you DO that?!"

"Do what?"

"Tell us apart!" he practically shouted, making several people turn to look at them.

Haruhi turned red, she quickly grabbed Hikaru's arm and dragged him away from her place of work.

Once they stopped walking she turned to him and hissed, "What's so special about me telling you apart? You two are different people. That's easy enough to see."

"It's special, because no one, and we mean NO ONE, has been able to tell us apart before," said Kaoru as he walked up behind them.

Haruhi could only assume that he'd been waiting at the front entrance. She should've known that a side entrance would only work once.

Haruhi frowned, "Really? But it's not hard. You're both very different people."

"Oh? How so?" asked Kaoru.

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to tell you what you already know. You both know that you're not the same. Why do you need me to tell you?"

She turned to walk away, but found her path blocked by Hikaru.

She almost groaned.

"Fine. Hikaru, you're impulsive and you carry your emotions for all to see. While, you, Kaoru, like to think before you act. You prefer to hide your emotions, letting Hikaru take the lead. Even though you both know that all you have to do is cry a real tear and Hikaru will do whatever you want."

Their stunned silence allowed Haruhi to get away and disappear into the crowd. As she entered her tae kwon do studio she wondered just what she was getting into with these two.

They didn't appear on Friday, but that might've been because Mamoru helped her sneak out early for a meeting with Alianore.

"Well, how's this week been?" Haruhi asked as she took the seat across from Alianore.

Alianore grinned at her, "Well, I've felt like a new person all week. It's so strange not having this gloomy cloud hanging around, waiting to attack."

Haruhi smiled back at her, "I'm glad you're doing well. I was pretty sure you still had feelings for Tamaki, but," she shrugged, "I could've been wrong."

Alianore laughed at that, "Really, Haruhi, you, wrong? I think the only time you got close to being wrong was when you tried to get Mei and I to leave you alone. After all, we're amazing. So not being our friend would be incredibly stupid of you."

Haruhi laughed at that, "Alianore, you're so full of yourself!"

"Of course I am! After all, if I wasn't, who would be?"

Haruhi laughed at that. Truly, how did she get so lucky to get such amazing friends? They were the best, even if they were a little odd.

XXX

On Sunday Haruhi grabbed her purse and headed out the door to the grocery store. Upon reaching the street she froze.

Two very, very familiar red-heads were getting out of an extremely expensive looking car. Haruhi frowned at them.

"How did you find out where I live?" she demanded.

Hikaru flashed her a grin, while Kaoru just looked sheepish.

"We have connections," Hikaru said.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at that, of course they had connections.

She took a deep breath and turned away from them to head down the street to the grocery store.

Within seconds they were on either side of her.

"So, Haruhi, where are you going?" Kaoru asked conversationally.

"Shopping."

"Oh, what are you shopping for?" he asked.

"Food."

"Are you going to cook for us?" Hikaru asked.

"No."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I cook for guests, not talking balls of slime," she said, bringing back her words from France. Maybe the shock would hit them so hard she could get away.

It didn't work.

"Balls of slime…where have I heard that before?" Hikaru asked.

"I do believe someone called us that once in Paris," Kaoru said.

Hikaru frowned, "That's right. Now, when was it...oh! I remember! It was when Tamaki got that drink thrown at him!"

"You're right!" Kaoru said, "You see, Haruhi, we don't often get called balls of slime. What made you pick that lovely term?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes at them, she'd miscalculated. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

"Because, it suited you then and it still suits you now."

"Suited us…" Kaoru said, confused.

"Wait a minute!" Hikaru exclaimed as he grabbed her arm and yanked her to a stop.

Haruhi did not like getting dragged around.

She quickly broke his hold and landed a nice kick on his thigh, sending him stumbling backwards.

"Hikaru Hitachiin, don't you DARE touch me again."

His eyes narrowed at her, "You're the one from Paris! How did you know about our friends? Kyoya was trying to figure that out for months. You had no connection at all to Ouran!"

"I'm psychic," she said, turning and resuming her walk to the store.

Kaoru joined her, leaving Hikaru standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

"You know," he said, "you didn't have to kick him."

"Yes, I did."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, from what I can tell, Hikaru needs something memorable to think about when learning a lesson."

"And what lesson was he learning?"

"Not to touch people without their permission."

"Ahhh…."

They continued their walk to the grocery story, eventually Hikaru caught up to them, but he said nothing. Although, he did keep side-eyeing her.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked around in mild curiosity as they followed Haruhi around the grocery store.

"Kaoru, remember that time Tamaki dragged us to one of these places?"

Kaoru chuckled, "Yeah, do you remember the girl that gave us the slip? One second we were courting her, the next we were staring at a wall of coff–"

Haruhi glanced at Kaoru to see him staring at shock. She then looked down at the packet of instant coffee in her hand and her eyes widened.

Hikaru frowned, "Kaoru, what's wrong?"

"Hikaru…look at Haruhi."

Hikaru frowned, "What about her?"

"Picture her in casual athletic clothes and glasses, with messy short hair."

Hikaru stared at her for a moment and then his eyes widened, too.

"Haruhi! That was you?!"

She wanted to walk away, but decided to stand her ground. They'd already proven that she couldn't get away from them.

"Maybe."

"What're the odds?" Kaoru whispered.

Haruhi didn't know, but she figured they were pretty low.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>It's been a crazy week. I'm late getting this out to ya'll and I apologize, but here's some much needed Haruhixtwins fun! This was a fun chapter to write.

Enjoy! :)


	14. Double Teamed

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights over any Ouran characters. Nor do I have the rights to Antique Bakery.

* * *

><p>Usually Haruhi was a very good judge of people. It was something that came fairly naturally to her, and she had continued to cultivate it once she realized how important it was to being a lawyer.<p>

But, sometimes, Haruhi did not understand people at all. Or, should she say, she did not understand certain people.

"You want me to WHAT?" Haruhi exclaimed.

"We want you to model a Hitachiin Original at the Hitachiin International Extravaganza." Mei said again, as if this was the most reasonable request in the world.

"Really, it looks like it was made for you. Mom had one of her 'dreams' and then created it. It really doesn't fit our typical models," Kaoru said calmly.

Haruhi shook her head, "No, I am not some dress-up doll. I am a lawyer. One who works for a very high profile law office. I will not be seen modeling at some sort of party. For one thing, if Mr. Tachiki saw me he'd fire me on the spot – no matter what Mamoru said."

"I disagree," said Hikaru. "You see, if he recognizes you and asks we'll say you did as a personal favor to us. He won't run the risk of losing Hitachiin International as clients."

"Besides," said Kaoru, "you've helped Mamoru win several big cases and settle dozens of others outside of court over the past year. He's not going to fire you."

"Oh? And what do I say when one of the Tachiki clients recognizes me and then dismisses me as an airhead due to the fact I was modeling? Do you know how hard it is to be respected as a female lawyer in Japan?"

"Hm, that does present a problem," said Mei.

Haruhi grinned triumphantly, "Yes, it does, doesn't it?"

The three up and coming fashion designers grew quiet for a moment. Haruhi began to grow a bit apprehensive. All three of them were capable of being quite devious when the occasion called for it.

"I know!" said Mei. "We can have the models wear-"

"MASKS!" all three of them shouted as they grinned like the evil relations to the Cheshire Cat that they were.

Haruhi put her head in her hands and sighed. She knew that she could continue to argue with them, but she'd ultimately lose. There was no way she'd win against all three of them. They were a very, very scary united front.

"Okay, I'll do it."

XXX

The only good thing about agreeing to model the dress was that they were all extremely nice to her. So, when she told them to get lost, they did.

With no one around to bother her, Haruhi headed to her old, college haunt – The Antique Bakery.

She wasn't much of a sweets fan, but one of Yusuke's pastries combined with a coffee, well, it made her relax.

Which is exactly what she was doing when Hunny plopped himself into the chair across from her.

"Hello, Haru-chan!"

Well if she had to be interrupted, then Hunny was a sight better than Tamaki, Mei, or either set of twins.

"Hello, Hunny," she said, smiling.

It was hard not to smile when Hunny was around.

His eyes narrowed and he studied her, "Haru-chan, what's wrong?"

"Kaoru, Hikaru, and Mei talked me into modeling at the Hitachiin International Extravaganza."

He looked puzzled, "But, don't they realize that some of your clients will be there?"

She shrugged, "That's what I said, so they decided all models would wear masks."

"But you don't want to, do you?"

"Not particularly."

"Want Mori and me to talk to them?"

She smiled at him, "No, I'll be okay. But thank you." She looked around the café, "By the way, where is Mori?"

"Oh, he's watching Genji and Fusao. Reiko is out of the country for the next week. Some sort of big convention in San Diego. Mori offered to watch them for an afternoon." He shuddered, "They've started walking."

"Sounds like trouble."

"Oh, it is, but, do you know what?"

She shook her head.

"I wouldn't give it up for anything else in the world."

"My dad always says the same thing."

Hunny chuckled, "Ranka's a very smart person."

"I couldn't agree more."

He grinned and took a bite of his cake.

The two of them ate in pleasant silence.

It was a very nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

XXX

"Mei, you are NOT doing Haruhi's makeup," declared Chiye.

"But, I'm the best!" Mei said.

"Sorry, Mei, but you aren't," Masaye said calmly, "or, at least you're not the best for Haruhi. She needs a very light touch – especially with that dress. Too much makeup would ruin the affect, you're a designer, you should see that."

Mei crossed her arms and pouted, but she didn't argue.

"I don't see why I even need to wear makeup," Haruhi said for the millionth time since she'd agreed to this insanity. "I'll be wearing a mask."

"The mask only covers half your face," said Masaye as she adjusted the angle of Haruhi's head and began to apply foundation.

"And with this mask your eyes will be very visible, you need good eye makeup especially," added Chiye.

Haruhi sighed in defeat; she just couldn't win when it came to this stupid Extravaganza.

By the time Masaye finished, Haruhi didn't recognize herself. She was more made-up, and yet more natural than she'd ever been in her entire life.

The girls helped her into the dress and then she just stared at herself in the mirror, feelings of shock and awe coursing through her veins.

With the mask on no one would be able to tell that this sophisticated model was Haruhi, the queen of business suits and a no-nonsense appearance.

The dress was very simply cut, and yet, it felt so sophisticated. The straps were wide and loose as they fell off of her shoulder and onto her upper arms. The cut of the chased showed off her pale neck, while still leaving much to the imagination. The rest of the dress fit her like a glove until it reached the hips, where it flowed out like water. The turquoise fabric shimmered as she moved. She'd never felt so unlike herself in her entire life.

"Breathtaking," whispered Chiye.

"Just as I imagined it! You look like a porcelain doll!" proclaimed a strong voice Haruhi hadn't heard before.

Turning, she saw it belonged to a gorgeous older woman. She turned away from the mirror and smiled at Haruhi, "You must be Miss Haruhi Fujioka. I am Yuzuha Hitachiin, now stand up straight please."

She put her hands on Haruhi's shoulder and waist, physically forcing her to stand up straight.

"Very good! Now, follow Mei, she'll take you to the rest of the models. Your dresses' names will be called and you'll descend the staircase, modeling the dress. Once every girl is at the bottom I want you to mingle with the guests. Let them see the dresses in action! Also, be sure to dance, to show how the dress looks as it moves. You'll be the last girl out the door since your dress is my crown jewel, I want nothing to outshine it! Understand?" She looked Haruhi in the eyes, "You and that dress are the belle of my ball."

Haruhi nodded, "Yes, Mrs. Hitachiin, I understand."

"Wonderful! Have a lovely time!"

And with those words she swept from the room.

The four girls stared after her for a moment, trying to catch their breath.

"So," said Chiye to Mei, "that's your boss?"

Mei smiled dreamily, "Yes, isn't she amazing?"

Haruhi sighed, "Mei, she won't be so amazing if we don't follow her orders."

"Oh! Right! Masaye, Chiye, I'll see you in the ballroom. I need to show Haruhi where to go. And remind the boys, we're calling her Princess tonight. I'm sure they've forgotten."

"Will do! Good luck, Haruhi!" said the Koenig twins together before heading out.

Haruhi sighed and watched them go. She wished she was going with them. Standing at the top of a giant staircase while everyone watched her did not sound fun.

Not at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Poor Haruhi, she just can't get away from being dressed up by her friends. Also, I adore Hunny.

Enjoy! :)


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